THE BARBADIAN ATHLETES who competed at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Beijing, China, have all returned home with a renewed commitment to training and the sport of athletics. Only Ramon Gittens made it to the finals, while two other medal hopefuls failed to advance from the first round. Gittens was fifth in the 200 metres; Terry Marshall fell at the eighth hurdle while leading his 400-metre hurdles heat and Ryan
M. Brathwaite was disqualified from the

110-metre hurdles. The field had already been charged with a false start, and Brathwaite, the World Youth silver medallist, fell out of the blocks while they were in the set position. He later said the starter held the race longer than he expected and, with the weight balanced on his fingers, he fell forward. It was the last year
as a junior for Marshall, and he is confident he can move on to the senior ranks successfully. Kimberly Stanford missed advancing out
of the first round of the
100-metre hurdles, finishing fifth in her heat, just outside her personal best time. Only the top four advanced. Kierre Beckles went into the semifinals but she did not make it to the finals, also unable to lift
to her personal best.